Mercyhurst - 2010 PSAC football champions (Photo by Ethan Magoc)
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Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst raced out to an early lead, taking an 11-point lead in the first quarter and later an 18-point lead at halftime, and never looked back as the Lakers made several big plays in the second half on both sides of the ball en route to claiming the program's first PSAC football championship with a 56-37 win over the Huskies. The title not only marks the first-ever PSAC title for the Lakers in just their third year in the PSAC, but also the program's first conference championship in Division II, which Mercyhurst joined in 1998 after previously being members of Division III.
WR/PR Trevor Kennedy was named the game's MVP after accumulating 250 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns. He caught 11 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns and returned three punts for a total of 89 yards, including one for 78 yards for a touchdowns. He also completed a pass for 56 yards. QB Travis Rearick completed 20-of-30 passes for 345 yards and four touchdowns and was also the team's leading rusher, gaining 30 yards on five carries for a total of 375 yards of total offense.
For Bloomsburg, Division II's leading rusher Franklyn Quiteh posted his 10th 100-yard rushing game in 11 games this year, gaining 104 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown before leaving early in the second half due to injury. QB Pat Carey threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns as the Huskies had to resort to throwing the ball more in the second half due to playing from behind, while Kyle Fisher caught six passes for 151 yards and two scores.
Big scoring plays were the theme of the day for Mercyhurst and the Lakers started that on the first score of the day as Terrance Coon grabbed a 61-yard touchdown pass from Rearick just over five minutes into the game. After a Bloomsburg field goal, Rearick found Matt Mohr from 28 yards out to give the Lakers a 14-3 lead. Quiteh then scored his first TD of the day on a 32-yard run just before the end of the first quarter to make it 14-10 but Mercyhurst answered right back on its next possession to reclaim an 11-point lead as Rearick tossed his third TD pass of the day, this one to Ryan Bartizal. Later in the second quarter, Kennedy sandwiched two big scoring plays around a Bloomsburg TD toss from Carey to Fisher, all of which resulted in a 35-17 halftime lead for Mercyhurst. Kennedy had a 78-yard punt returned for a TD and later, with just over a minute left in the first half, hauled in an 81-yard pass from Rearick for another TD.
Kevin Williams then returned an interception 28 yards for a touchdown on Bloomsburg's first possession of the second half to put the Lakers up 42-17, a margin that proved insurmountable for Bloomsburg. The Huskies would score three more touchdowns in the second half but the Lakers would score two more of their own, including Kennedy's third score of the day to cap the scoring late in the fourth quarter.